We throw out a topic and all you have to do is come up with the smartest, funniest, most interesting fact related to it. Simply enter your fact in the comments below and if yours is chosen, you'll win a brand new prize from the mental_floss store (along with endless bragging rights!). One fact per comment, but you can enter as many facts as you'd like.
Today's topic: In honor of the Christmas trees going up all over, give us an odd fact about plants. The odder, more obscure, or baffling, the better!
Here are two examples to get your mojo working:
The largest single flower is the Rafflesia or "corpse flower". They are generally 3 feet in diameter with the record being 42 inches.
For more than 30 years, Nova Scotia has donated a giant Christmas tree each year to the people of Boston as a thank you for their assistance following the 1917 Halifax Explosion.
Today's prize: The cool When life gives you scurvy, make lemonade! T-shirt.
And even if you don't have a winning fact, mental_floss is giving Neatorama readers a special discount in the mental_floss store. This week only, visit mentalfloss.com/store and get 15% off anything in the store by entering "neatorama" into the coupon code.
Good luck, guys!
Notice: Because the mental_floss staff has been jet-setting (and therefore jet-lagging), we will announce both yesterday's winner and today's winner on Monday.Prof Cosgrove, who is Chief Scientific Officer of Revolymer, said: "The advantage of our Clean Gum is that it has a great taste, it is easy to remove and has the potential to be environmentally degradable."
"I am delighted with our progress" added Roger Pettman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In 18 months we have converted UK technology into a commercial product, significantly changing the pollution issues facing chewing gum."
Pettman's daughter has done tests of gum on her hair, such is his dedication to his product. The additive has yet to be approved but it is expected before the end of the year and "we are planning our product launch for 2008," said Pettman.
In honor of the first manned Moon landing, which took place on July 20, 1969, we’ve added some NASA imagery to the Google Maps interface to help you pay your own visit to our celestial neighbor. Happy lunar surfing.
On April 13, 2029, asteroid 2004 MN4 will fly past Earth only 18,600 miles (30,000 km) above the ground. For comparison, geosynchronous satellites orbit at 22,300 miles (36,000 km). "At closest approach, the asteroid will shine like a 3rd magnitude star, visible to the unaided eye from Africa, Europe and Asia--even through city lights," says Jon Giorgini of JPL. This is rare. "Close approaches by objects as large as 2004 MN4 are currently thought to occur at 1000-year intervals, on average."
The breed standard for the Toyger, as registered with TICA, is a big-boned, pumpkin-colored animal with a whitened belly. Ideally, its stripes mimic those of its powerful role model, flowing up from the stomach and down from the spine, and forming concentric arcs around the face.
